Flanders seemed at this moment to be wavering.

Its Count had fallen at Crecy, but his son Lewis le Male, though his sympathies were as French as his father's, was received in November by his subjects with the invariable loyalty which they showed to their rulers; and his own efforts to detach them from England were seconded by the influence of the Duke of Brabant.

But with Edward close at hand beneath the walls of Calais the Flemish towns stood true.

They prayed the young Count to marry Edward's daughter, imprisoned him on his refusal, and on his escape to the French Court in the spring of 1347 they threw themselves heartily into the English cause.

A hundred thousand Flemings advanced to Cassel and ravaged the French frontier.
The danger of Calais roused Philip from the panic which had followed his defeat, and with a vast army he advanced to the north.